Greene suspended

Posted: Tuesday, December 15, 1998

By Associated Press

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers suspended Kevin Greene for one game without pay Monday, one day after he attacked an assistant coach on the sidelines during the team's loss to the Washington Redskins.

''No matter what happened, you can't justify what Kevin Greene did,'' said coach Dom Capers, who announced the suspension after meeting with Greene and Kevin Steele, the coach he grabbed and shoved.

The action means the Panthers (2-12) will be without Greene, who leads the team in sacks, in Sunday's home finale against St. Louis (4-10). Greene's suspension will cost him $117,647.05, the equivalent of one week's pay from his 1998 salary of $2 million.

Upon learning of the team's action, NFL officials said they planned no further sanctions against Greene.

''We're really not involved in it at all,'' league spokesman Chris McCloskey said.

Greene, Carolina's starting left outside linebacker, got into a heated discussion with Steele, the inside linebackers' coach, after the Redskins drove for long touchdowns on their first three possessions.

Carolina safety Mike Minter, who was sitting beside Greene at the time, said the linebacker was upset because someone had given him the wrong call on the Redskins' third score, a 5-yard burst up the middle by Skip Hicks.

Minter said neither Greene nor Steele used profanities but both were upset.

''Kevin just lost it,'' Minter told reporters Monday.

Capers said he could understand Greene's frustration, given that the Redskins' first three drives went for 82, 80 and 79 yards.

On the other hand, Capers said, he expected a different reaction from a player with 14 years of NFL experience.

''We talk all the time about keeping your poise in those situations,'' Capers said.

The 6-foot-3, 247-pound Greene jumped up from the bench, lunged at Steele, grabbed him by the jacket just below the neck with both hands and began shoving him backwards before coaches and players separated the two.

''It was wrong. It should have never happened,'' Greene said in a statement released by the Panthers Monday night. ''I respect coach Steele very, very much and regret it happened.''

Capers spent several minutes speaking to Greene before letting him stay in the game. The coach said Monday he did not bench Greene after the attack because he wanted to first let both parties calm down and discuss the matter with him away from the emotion-charged atmosphere of a playing field.

''I think Kevin feels worse about this than anybody,'' Capers said. of the 36-year-old Greene, who is among the NFL's all-time leaders with 147 sacks but has slowed recently after getting off to a fast start this season.

Bledsoe start streak ends

FOXBORO, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe, who leads the AFC in consecutive starts with 58, will miss Sunday's game against San Francisco because of his broken finger.

''It is our thinking that we have got to give him this week off,'' New England coach Pete Carroll said Monday.

Bledsoe reinjured his finger in Sunday's 32-18 loss to the St. Louis Rams and on Monday underwent a minor surgical procedure at Massachusetts General Hospital in which hand specialist Dr. James Herndon readjusted the pins in the finger to give it more stability.

''Obviously with his finger, he's endured about all he can at this time, so we're thinking right now ... we've got to give him a break this week,'' Carroll said. ''So that's the plan right now. He's just going in that direction right now. He's not doing things the way he's capable of playing, so we're going to hold back on him.''

Bledsoe initially fractured his right index finger while throwing a pass against Miami on Nov. 23, hitting his hand on a pass rusher during a last-minute drive.

Still, he threw the winning pass as the Patriots rallied to beat Miami 26-23.

He managed to play the next two games, while wearing a splint, leading New England over the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers, and keeping the Patriots close to a playoff berth.

Bledsoe threw well during warmup for Sunday's game, but at some point the pins in his finger began moving around.

''It was kind of bugging him during the game,'' punter Tom Tupa, the Patriots' third-string quarterback, said. ''You could feel the pins coming through the other side. It was frustrating (for Bledsoe). He wants to be in there playing.''

Bledsoe missed two series in the first quarter while having a new splint set on his finger. He wasn't very effective when he returned, going 11-for-35 for 176 yards.

Carroll said Bledsoe needs the break.

''It's like putting a fighter in the corner and getting the cut man to fix him up, and then putting him back out there,'' Carroll said. ''He's willing to do it and that's what he did, but it's just time. It's progressed too far.''

Carroll said he has not decided whether backup Scott Zolak or Tupa will start against the 49ers. There's a possibility he will use both, he said.

Zolak, the Patriots' fourth-round draft choice from Maryland in 1991, completed no passes on two attempts when he came off the bench on Sunday.

He also played in two other games this season, completing 4-of-12 passes for 39 yards.